Please Welcome James' Neighborhood Recycling Service to the AOR Membership!

What is the name of your business or organization?       
James' Neighborhood Recycling Service

What does your business/organization do?
We have a door-to-door recycling service for our neighbors and other nearby neighborhoods.

Tell us about your business/organization's recycling/sustainability practices.
We collect household recycling from our customers - things like plastic and plastic bags, Styrofoam, batteries, and many more items that might normally be thrown away. We sort in our van and take things to various recycling places around town.

We also try to find creative ways to recycle or upcycle some more obscure items we collect – chip bags and dental products go to TerraCycle brigades at local schools, corks are taken to a local vintner who passes them on to companies that make shoes and yoga mats, coffee bags are given to an artist who makes handbags out of them.

How would you describe your work culture?
Our work is culture is very relaxed and fun - we keep things casual and take the time to get to know our customers (and their dogs!) while we're out collecting.

What motivates your employees to meet your recycling/sustainability goals?
We have a commitment to be reliable and helpful to our customers and value excellent customer service. We believe that every person can do their part to help the environment and that people with special needs (James has autism) can successfully pursue their dreams. Plus James is kind of obsessed with recycling!

If your business or organization was an animal, which one would it be and why?
James says we would be a crow. We run around getting into people's "garbage" and picking out the good stuff.

How did you learn about AOR?
From Annette Steele of the City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability.